Finding You
by facheezy
Summary: Currently only featuring Kataang and Sokkue or Yukka. As they journey through the Earth Kingdom, the Gaang, Uncle Iroh, Zuko, and Ozai's Angels accidently rediscover a gate to the Spirit World.
1. A Cool Night's Breeze

I do not own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender

"He is not allowed to see you".  
"I understand".

Appa flew into the dark abyss. The stars had gone to bed and all that was left in that great black bowl was the clouded moon. Guiding the weary travelers, stray fragments of moonlight breached the clouds' walls. Aang, Katara, and Toph lay sound asleep while Sokka lay restlessly trying to find a comfortable position.

"Uhn, mmph…" Sitting up, he glanced to his right. There lay his friends, peacefully sleeping away. _'What a day it was. Running from Azula is like running from a killer platipusbear. Aang, Katara, and Toph were beat tired from bending… Hah, Toph's using Momo as a pillow,'_ he thought to himself.

All of a sudden, Sokka felt something brush behind him. _'Could it be,' _he thought.. _'yes, possibly, since we're way up here.' _His instincts told him something was flying behind him, and Sokka knew instantly what it was.

"You're not escaping me. I can smell red meat from a mile away," he whispered to his prey. He dropped his head and loosened his fingers. There! He felt it again! _'Patience, Sokka,' _he said to himself. He could feel its presence swooping behind him.

"Hi-yah!", Sokka turned rising to his feet, pulling his knife from its sheath, missing and nearly falling off of Appa as he swung and slashed at nothing. Just darkness. Swish. A strong breeze brushed from underneath Appa, relaxing Sokka's sudden adrenaline rush. The air flowed though his breeches and shirt. It tickled his chin and shot a cold tingle down his spine. And as he shivered, he looked around to glance at the stars but found a clear bright moon no longer overcastted by dark clouds. A free moon. Sokka just stood and watched it. The knife fell from his hand, and the strong breeze returned. Caressing his face, relaxing his mind, intertwining his body like a grapevine to its loving fence, intricately moving in and out of his fingers. He scrutinized that white bright circle as if searching for something. He closed his eyes in disappointment and returned to sleep. _Was it in my dream? Yes it had to be._ He had remembered hearing her familiar voice and her loving oath, "Sokka, remember, I am always with you".

"Sokka, wake up! We're here!" Aang called bringing the sleeping beauty to his wake.  
Turning around Aang asked, "Hey, you look like a mess, rough night buddy?"

"Yeah…you could say that," replied Sokka looking up at the morning sky.

Aang laughed, "I was talking to Appa."

They all laughed together.  
Sokka looked at the rest of them and just smiled.  
Katara then gazed at the breathtaking waterfall they had just arrived at, "It's beautiful Aang, what do they call this place?"

"Midnight Falls".


	2. Midnight Falls

"Hmm. The scenery looks oddly familiar."  
"That's because you've been leading us in a big circle. We've past this tree at least three times now."  
"Well Zuko, since we've been walking for a while let's take rest under the shade of these trees. It is almost midday, and walking in this heat can play tricks on the mind. Ahh, yes," replied Iroh as he slowly gathered himself under the leaves of a large maple-greenwood.  
"Uncle, we need to keep moving. This is the direction Azula chased the Avatar. We may be able to reach him by sundown…"  
"Patience Zuko, even Azula needs her rest. Now, why don't you gather some food for our little break. I believe I spotted some tea bushes not too far from here. Tea would be very nice. It would do well in bringing me back to full strength. And it is good for the mind." Zuko looked forward into the range of maple-redwood trees and then back down at his uncle. Slowly he said, "The avatar can wait." Zuko backtracked in the direction of the tea bushes, leaving his uncle beneath the leaves of the giant maple-redwood.

A cool breeze blew through the encircling forest as water thundered down from the cliffs above. From the air, the waterfall had seemed an island of stone in a sea of emerald green. From the ground, it was a tower of blue and gray, with a watery trail leading to it and an apex that pointed to a cloudless sky. It was a place that, even if it were in a world that lacked magic, could make a person believe in things beyond the material.  
"Woo-eee, boy does Appa need a bath. And what better place than an 'enchanted' waterfall."  
"It's not enchanted, Sokka," replied Aang, "Ever since my friends and I used to come here I had always had a strong feeling as if someone was watching me. I didn't know I was the avatar back then, so now I guess it's just all the spirit energy that surrounds this place."  
"Enchanted… spirit… same thing."  
"So you don't know the history of this place?" asked Katara.  
"Nope… _but_ there is this cool cave right behind the falls. That's where we would jump.  
"There must be something more to this place, right?" asked Katara.  
Sokka began to scrub between Appa's toes. The giant flying bison let out a yawn and then flipped into the large stream, belly-up.  
"Obviously we wait until something magical appears at midnight, fruitcakes."  
"You know what? That actually makes sense," noted Sokka as he moved from one paw to the next. Katara looked over at Aang, asking her question without a word passing between them.  
"What? Am I the only one that can connect the dots here? And I can't even see…and speaking of fruit – did you unload the food before throwing that cow into the water?"  
Sokka stopped brushing and his eye widened as he glanced to his left and watched all their supplies floating down the stream.  
"I did not throw Appa into the water. He got in on his own."  
"Great. There goes all the food. Well, you know what, I'm feeling mighty nice today," said Toph. Sokka gave Toph a look of disbelief, "I can take the bison and get some supplies. We passed over a market a few hours away. And all this hocus pocus is giving me a head-ache."  
"Toph, are you sure you can go…" Katara said before realizing what she was about to say and instead suggested, "You should really wait until Appa finishes his bath. He gets really cranky if he flies wet".  
"I'll wait then. I wouldn't want to make him cranky," she said.  
"Nope 'cus then he'll just drop you while you're flying." His hands motioning a falling bird falling down to its death. "Wheeeeeee…splat. Ehh, Toph luck." Scoffed Sokka.

"Ready for your next waterbending lesson?" asked Katara.  
"Of course…. sifu Katara," replied Aang. Katara blushed, and Aang followed her to the banks of the waterfall.

"Ah. Much better," Sokka said to himself as he began to sniff Appa, although the look on his face said otherwise. "Well, at least it's better than before. He's all yours." Wiping his hands together and giving Toph a smug grin, Sokka took a step back to watch the show. She climbed aboard, sat down, and called out, "Ok. Ready, fly!"  
Sokka snickered.  
"Ahem, I think the words you're looking for are 'pooh-pooh'."  
Agitated and losing her patience, Toph commanded the bison, "Pooh-pooh!". Sokka clasped his hands over his mouth to try and conceal his laughter, but it was really too much. His histerical laughter was followed by the crushing sounds of rocks. Three giant triangular stones had enclosed Sokka as the sharp corners nearly pierced his skin. His grin faded and all he could say was "Yip, yip." And the bison took off.  
"Hey what about me!" Sokka called out from his tiny playpen, but Toph was too far to notice. Katara and Aang looked back and laughed. Sokka turned his head as far as he could, a mighty fifteen degrees to the right and asked, "A little help here would be convenient."  
Katara and Aang together threw their hands in the air forming a large wave and splashed it against the rocks. Although Sokka was now completely covered in mud, he easily squeezed his way out of his pen and rinses himself under the falls as Aang and Katara continued their lesson.

Sokka examined the sides of the rocky waterfall. "Say Aang, how again did you get to that cave?"  
"I jumped."  
"He… jumped?" Stated Sokka blankly as he stared vertically upward at the towering cliff, "Well, why don't I try jumping too…" he mumbled to himself as he began to scale the treacherous slope.

As they were practicing some basic warm up skills, Aang said, "Maybe I should tell him there's a pathway around the falls?"  
"I think he'll be able to find it himself," replied Katara. "Good job, Aang. Now that you know most of the major techniques, I want to try something different today. I want to duel."  
"Duel? Me? I… don't think that's a very good idea," Aang made a short pause and finished, "Sifu Katara." Katara unlaced her shoes and undid her blouse. She waded into the water, turned to Aang and smiled.  
"Are you ready?" Aang's lower jaw unhinged from his mouth as soon as those lips spread into that smile. _She looks so…_  
"Aang, are you ready?" Katara said as Aang threw off his shirt and hopped in. "Don't go easy on me now."  
"I won't," replied Aang smiling back at her. Both duelists knew who had the clear advantage: one a waterbending master and the other the most powerful bender alive, the Avatar. But from the bank, onlookers would argue differently. Both benders were matched in speed and technique. When one tried sending a flurry of frozen discs the other built an ice blockade, sending the discs ricocheting in all directions. And I mean all directions. Sokka had just reached the edge of cliff, when a frozen disc hit the rocks just above his hand. "Oh no..NOOOoooo.." his voice trailed as he plummeted into the now icy water.  
"I'm OK, don't worry about Sokka. He's fine," Sokka stated shivering but neither bender heard a word. It was then that Sokka decided a different approach was needed. He began to walk around the falls hoping to find another way up.

"You're holding back!" Katara amusingly exclaimed.  
"No, I'm not. The one who's holding back is you," replied Aang. "Hmm. I wonder, what it will take for you to unleash that master bending?" questioned Aang. "Maybe we should bring Toph out here to show you how it's done?"   
She smirked. _Haha, cute, but not good enough, Aang. _  
"Or we can call Zuko out here…"  
Katara gritted her teeth and barked, "He paid dearly for what he did to you; I made sure of it," _And what he said to me! _She added, mentally. Katara's movements became more vigorous now.  
"Yea, I guess Zuko's just too easy for you. He might call the whole Fire Nation for backup," laughed Aang. Katara froze. Images of black fire nation brigades raiding her home flooded her mind. The sounds of screaming children, the loss of her community…the death of her mother flashed before her eyes. Tears began to crawl down her cheeks. Katara was now looking down at her own reflection disgusted that she could do nothing to stop the madness.  
"Katara, I'm so sorry, I…" But it was far too late. Katara's bottled up hatred had taken on a life of its own. A thick fog began to rise between the two. "Katara, what's happening?" questioned Aang frantically. He looked about and saw, rising above the fog, Katara in the center of a whirling water tornado. She clasped her hands together and the water surrounding Aang froze. He couldn't move. In an effort to protect himself, Aang motioned his arms over his head forming an igloo by bending the ice into a semi-sphere. The water tornado froze into a tower of ice with Katara at the top. She threw her hands upward and then down at Aang with all her fingers pointing at the little igloo house. Two tidal waves rose out of the steady stream matching the height of the icey tower. The new towers froze and then dismantled into an array of ice arrows. The little igloo home could not withstand the speeds. It wasn't until Katara began to see shades of pink on the walls of the little igloo that she realized what she had just done. 

"Strange, the lizards have led to this market but no Avatar," noted Azula.  
"You stop!" She commanded. The local cabbage vender halted. Azula revealed a scroll with the faces of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph.  
"Have you seen any of these people before?" Just as the vender was about to reply, he was interrupted,  
"Look, up in the sky…" shouted TyLee.  
The vender replied, "I can't see well; it's much too bright out here. Is it a bird?"  
"No, it's a bison!" replied TyLee.  
Mai looked up and confirmed, "Yea, she's right this time. It's a bison."  
The vender looked at the three girls, glanced over his left and right shoulder, picked up his cart, and slowly but swiftly ran away. "Crazy, lunatics…flying bisons, bah!"  
"Hmm. But no Avatar," whispered Azula.   
"Maybe it's a different bison?" suggested TyLee.  
"No this is the one. We'll wait and then we'll follow."

As the sun began to set, Toph and Appa were nearly half-way to the falls as they followed the direction up the stream, when Appa began descending.  
"Yip, Yip," Toph barked, "Yip, Yip". Appa only moaned.  
"What's wrong with you?" she asked as Appa landed on the bank of the stream and placed practically his entire head into the water. Toph got off and stood next to the bison. She laughed as the water level diminished exponentially and patted the furry bison. Something wasn't right, however. She kept petting the bison while keeping her head away from the disturbance. Yes, she had sensed six pairs of legs slowing down to a complete halt just a hundred meters from where she stood. _From the pace, it has to be lizards,_ she thought. That could only mean one thing.  
"Ok Appa, time's up. We need to get moving big fella'." Quietly she added, "We're being followed by some fire lovers and I know they're not too friendly, so going home is a definite no. They want a chase; we'll give them one. Yip yip." As Appa, ascended into the air, TyLee began to move forward, when Azula stopped her.  
"She has been following this river for quite some time, but she suddenly changes course after she …clever. No, we will not be following the bison any longer." Excited with her recent discovery, even Azula failed to notice the lone figure, which stood in the distance. "No, Azula, the avatar is mine," he whispered.

"Well, he could've told me there was a path," Sokka muttered as he climbed the path. Scared of falling down again, he stayed close to the sides and he walked behind the water curtain and into the safe cave. He half expected it to be pitch dark, yet there were holes in the walls allowing for stray moonlight to enter. He walked further in until, "Ow! What the heck is this?" he exclaimed, but he knew what it was as soon as the last words left his lips. It was a dial placed in the center of the cave. On one end of the dial an arrow pointed to the ceiling to a whole which light had not yet passed through. And on the other end of the dial, another arrow pointed in the opposite direction, where Sokka saw, in the dim light, what seemed to be an arch. As he stepped closer, his foot fell into a dip in the ground. He looked down and saw two holes roughly the size and shape of a man's foot situated between the dial and the "arch". Suddenly, a gust of wind forced its way through the water curtain, knocking Sokka off balance and causing him to stumble such that his feet wound up situated in the shapes on the floor.

_Must have dozed off for a couple of hours_ thought Iroh to himself. He slowly got up, turned around and stretched. _What is taking Zuko so long? Maybe he can't find a cup. _Iroh's gaze stopped over a patch of shrubs behind where he was napping. _Well what do you know; the tealeaves were behind me the whole time! The sun was playing tricks on my mind._ He went to get a closer look.

As the final rays of light disappeared, Toph felt the time to attack was now or never. "Okay, Appa, this is far enough," she said. Appa landed and Toph hopped out prepared to encounter the three devils. But the only thing she could sense was the pacing of two lonely feet a few meters from her. To her it looked like an old fellow smelling a bush. "Hey, you over there. What are you doing?"  
The old man kept his back facing the young girl and replied, "Examining tea leaves. It's a very selective process. When I'm done, though, you are more than welcome to stay. I enjoy the company of strangers as long as there is tea."  
"You're the old man who offered me the tea, before?" At these words Iroh froze. He stood up and turned around to see the very same earthbender he had shared teatime with only a few days before and thought, _Oh no. Zuko._

The ice that had surrounded Aang was now melted, leaving Aang floating on top of the water. His face scarred from slashes, and his cheeks and arms red from blood. "Aang! AANG! Oh no." Katara swam over to the little airbender and held him in her arms. The tears returned but in greater volume this time.  
"I'm sorry Katara," he squeaked. Wading through the water, Katara placed one arm around him to support him. She placed her right hand on his arms to heal the slashes. Speechless, she brought her hand to the scratches on his neck.  
"Katara, I shouldn't have…" Aang said as his eyes filled up with tears.  
"It's all my faul--" She put a finger over his lips and pressed him closer to her, even as he shivered in her arms. She was still sobbing as she brought her hand to his bloody cheeks; even though he was healed, Aang looked miserable. He blinked, and the first tears trickled down his face. Aang could not stand to see her like that, and shivering, he took both his hands and placed them on her cheeks even with her shaking her head. Cupping her cheeks in the palms of his hands, he wiped away the fresh tears with his thumbs. Her hand moved down his face and around his neck pulling him close to her. His hands gently followed down her cheeks and around her neck. Katara could see the bright white moon's light in his eyes. The water was still, the wind unmoving, and they moved in unison. Like two magnets brought too close, their lips locked under the light of a full moon. Neither was shocked at the occurrence, if not only because shock was not among the emotions the two of them felt. Her arms did not withdraw from around his neck nor did his own from hers. The tears which fell from their eyes were no longer just tears of sorrow and pain but now of comfort and longing. What onlookers would say lasted only a moment, lasted a lifetime for them. Time was simply tossed aside.

Sadly, time resents such gestures, and is always quick to assert its presence.

"Well, well, well. Out for a midnight swim are we?" asked Azula.  
"Kissy, kissy. Muah," added TyLee as she blew a kiss to Aang.


	3. Familiar Encounters

Three figures stood just beyond the falls. Their backs turned to the moon, forming giant overcastting shadows on the banks of the stream. Although weary of the last encounter, the Avatar knew where he belonged in the inevitable battle. The bright full moon hung overhead as the sky was filled with darkness unlike other nights. Aang began to move out of the water; his eyes fixed on Azula, the firebending prodigy. He climbed through the icy water, shivering but keeping strong eye contact. As he moved steadily out of the water and onto the shore, he slipped, nearly falling into the mud. Azula smiled knowing the avatar was suffering, weak from a previous encounter. But then her eyes widened. _What kind of creature could have done this to the Avatar?_ She thought. Regardless, she began walking toward the weary airbender while examining her surroundings for any intruders. Satisfied that no one was there she pursued her prey.  
"The avatar is mine," she whispered to TyLee and Mai.  
The duo nodded and began to approach Katara. Katara looked up at Aang, fully aware that he was in no condition to fight.  
"Aang," Katara whispered to him, longing him to back down from the fight. He didn't look back to her as he airbended his staff into his hands.  
"Run, Aang." Katara pleaded, but his fingers only tightened over his staff as his feet found their defensive stance.   
Azula began to ask, "I'm curious, Avatar, before your escapade under the falls, what had you been doing for you to end up like this?"  
There was a long pause, as Aang simply stared her down.  
"Nonetheless, your adventure ends here," she said as she drew her hands in a circle, separating the two charges – when she froze. Katara, under the light of the full moon, had drenched Azula in icy cold water, stopping her attack short. As Katara had once done to Zuko at the Northern Water tribe, she began enclosing Azula in layers of ice. Mai launched her deadly darts, but the darts merely blew in different directions, as the young Avatar entered the battle. A flying TyLee came out of nowhere in attempt to take out Katara's bending, yet Aang tirelessly swung his staff as a strong gust of wind knocked her flat into the ground. Azula's icy prison exploded, as the firebender now had flames encircling her wrists and ankles. Katara did not hold back. Katara felt her bending enhancing as she readied her stance to attack once more. She did not know what had drawn this strength. Perhaps, it was the loss of that moment of intimacy, a moment which she had not felt since her mother's warm arms had wrapped around her as a child, or perhaps it was her true hatred for the fire nation, taking its own form once again. Whatever the reason, Katara had full control of this match as she drew her arms up into the air and fired icy darts at Azula. Azula evaded the darts with difficulty, as the final dart glistened against her cheek, leaving behind its mark.  
Azula, clasped her hands together, as if she were to pray, the two palms of her hands facing each other and exclaimed, "You are very lucky, you are the first one to see this." Katara drew a defensive stance, as Azulas clasped hands motioned from down behind her side to up above her head in Katara's direction. As if sparking a match against the ground, the flames which encircled her feet met the flames on her wrists, and sent ten feet high flames through the ground. In a simple, elegant turn, Katara drew the water from the stream, into a defensive barricade as the water encircled her like a moat around a castle. The flames evaporated as they met the surface of the encircling water shield. With ease Katara kept her ground, and although a bit weak, Aang flawlessly evaded each attack from the duo. Mai's darts and TyLees acrobatics were simply no match for the powerful gusts of the airbender.  
"Fighting the Avatar is difficult enough but against two nonbenders? Isn't that a bit unfair?" A voice behind Aang interrupted his battle as Mai's eyes wavered from Aang to the intruder. Aang knew that voice. As he turned around, a blast of fire glazed against his shoulder and he fell to the ground.  
"Why don't I even out the odds?" said Zuko. Frozen to a tree from Katara's last attack, Azula began to lose her patience, and the sight of her brother only made her annoyance grow.  
"Zuzu, why do you even bother, now?" she asked as her dragon breath melted away the ice. Katara and Aang were now side by side with the fire nation fighters surrounding them.   
TyLee looked at Mai, and grinned as she whispered, "Hey Mai, look who's here." Mai looked at Zuko, as he turned, their eyes met if only for a second. _He's …changed so much._ She thought to herself. Zuko examined her from head to toe and then turned back, his eyes now focused on the airbender. Mai momentarily thought, _Was he just checking_ –  
"Mai watch out!" TyLee interrupted her thought as Katara sent icy arrows in their direction. Yet, the moment Katara turned her back to Azula, Azula drew her circular pathways, separating the charges. But this time, Zuko launched four fireball flames at his sister, giving Katara just enough time to evade out of Azula's sight. Aang followed Zuko's lead and whipped his staff creating a powerful gust, sending Azula flying back, her armor scorched from the flames and her hair blown into a mess. Katara finally drew her hands into the air and sent wave after wave of icy water at the duo, pushing Mai and TyLee into the stream. The weary pair, now finding difficult to even tread the water, were now being sucked into the middle of the stream; Katara's hands clenched into fists and motioned the water to rise and freeze around TyLee and Mai, enclosing them in giant ice cubes. They were carried down the stream, incapable of moving. All that could be heard were the faint plees for help.  
"Help! Hel–" as they bobbed in and out of the water.  
Katara moved back to Aang's side as they took their stances against Azula and Zuko.  
"Zuzu, both of us know, you accomplish nothing if you capture the Avatar. Father will not simply forgive you by bringing him back the Avatar, have you not forgotten the shame you've brought this family, the shame you've brought him."  
Zuko's stance began to weaken. Katara, holding up the weary Avatar, looked back at the scarred face of the banished prince.  
" 'Lucky to be born' isn't that what father always said?" she questioned, as she sickly probed deeper into his emotions. Zuko looked down into the stream, staring down his reflection.  
"The royal family…and the banished prince," she continued. Katara watched Zuko stare down his reflection, as he lifted his hand to his scar.  
"But father is wrong, Zuko." Zuko looked up to his sister.  
"He is wrong; he does not know the full potential of his children." At this remark, Azula looked Zuko in the eyes and asked, "Join me Zuko. Together we can teach father what is right. Together we will capture the Avatar." Zuko looked down at the water once more, hesitating, his mind in deep thought: _I need to restore my rightful place …I need my throne..no. I need father to restore my place by his side..I need. I need._ He looked up at Azula and suddenly turned around facing Aang and Katara. Katara had noticed the hatred drained from his face. He almost looked empathetic, as if dreading something. Zuko raised his arms in attempt to fire at Katara and the weak Avatar, but suddenly felt his knees come up from under him. Zuko now laid face first in the dirt, as the ground beneath him had shifted.  
"Well, I can't let you guys have all the fun," replied Toph as she brisked by the fallen Zuko. Uncle Iroh approached from behind her, his pace slowing as he walked in awe when he saw the waterfall. _This place is familiar_, he thought. His eyes rose in fright as he noticed the reflection of the full moon in the stream. From surprise and awe, his expression shifted to horror in an instant. As Zuko began to gather himself for the last earth-shifting attack, Katara drenched Zuko with an enormous wave, forcing him into the stream and freezing him against the rocky sides of the waterfall. The sudden attack against the rocky walls, left him too weak to retaliate, let alone, move his limbs. In that moment, Azula found her chance. Her eyes met the weak gray eyes of the young Avatar. Her arms began the lightning stance once more as she directed her fingers at Aang. Unlce Iroh grabbed her hand, and with a swift motion redirected the lightning behind them.

As Sokka gathered himself from the strong gust, his hands met the arch shaped walls. He placed his palms over the surface of the rock-like entry, as he leaned against the rock archway. Through the moonlight shafts Sokka made out glyphs inscribed on the arch. With his feet still planted, he leaned closer in attempt to make out the glyphs, his entire body supported by the rock wall. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, a sudden explosion behind him. The rock wall which he had been leaning on instantly vanished, and Sokka fell in through the archway as glowing white light filled the cave!

Still holding Azula's hand from redirecting the lightning, Iroh felt a horrible darkness. Katara, Azula, Aang, Zuko and Toph felt it too. A strong ki energy escaped from behind the waterfall. As if drawn to it, everyone turned to face the falls, as a brilliant white light emerged from behind the waterfall._Oh no, what have I done!_ Iroh thought, his face now filled with fear and horror. As Aang's eyes met the white light, his spirit instantly transported through the waterfall and into the gate – to the spirit world, as his body lay on the forest grounds of the human world.

Iroh's hand let go of Azula, shaking his head in disbelief and fear, a fear which he had not felt for a long time. He began taking steps away from the light. The others however, as if programmed, were drawn to the massive amount of ki energy, as if replenishing their own spirits. Even Toph's own senses were heightened.

Unknowingly, Sokka now stood in the spirit world. _What just happened?_ It appeared that Sokka had simply walked in and out of a mirror, for there he stood at the opening of a cave just behind a waterfall. Sokka too felt a boding change in the environment – as an eerie feeling crept up his spine that he was no longer at Midnight Falls. He walked forward, out of the cave, and down the slope of the waterfall, his legs moving as if they had minds of their own. As he moved through this mirror world, he moved without the slightest fear or speculation of what he might encounter. He just walked. A thick fog appeared from no where and he lost sight of the waterfall. Yet his mind was elsewhere. _Where am I?_ Maybe his mind didn't know. His heart however was hoping he had finally arrived. His calm posture and relaxed expression never faltered as he continued into the strange unknown world which lay before him.

Aang now stood outside of the waterfall, exactly as he stood in the human world. He walked towards the water's edge and looked around and noticed his hands and legs were blue.  
"What am I doing here?" he muttered aloud and called out for Avatar Roku. His reflection changed from airbender to aged firebender as Avatar Roku appeared in the watery reflection.  
"I'm here Aang." He said. Aang was buzzing with questions,  
"Avatar Roku, how did I get here? I need to go back, my friends are in danger."  
At once, Avatar Roku replied, "Aang, your friends have opened a spirit gate,"   
Aang interrupted, "But why am I–"  
"Aang, time is of the essence. Once the portal is open, it stays open until the full moon sets. Any spirit is free to move between the worlds. Your water tribe friend has entered the spirit world. Aang, you must find your friend, return back through the portal, but most importantly you must make sure no spirits leave the gate. We must make haste, for I fear that a guardian has already passed through the gate. To aid you in this task, one spirit has agreed to help you. She has been watching over you on your safe path to the Earth Kingdom and will help you defend the portal gate until sunrise." Said Roku.  
Aang looked up from the water, and saw the wispy image of a familiar, beautiful white spirit.


End file.
